Golan
Commander Golan Amaway was the general of the Army of Righteous Chastisement, as he was the next most highly ranked Thaumaturg below the Circle of Masters themselves, and as such bore the mark of his office, the Rod of Execution.Blood and Bone, Chapter 1, UK MMPB, p.70-76 Golan normally travelled to war via war elephant, however in his campaign against Ardata he rode a litter held by Yakshaka, another 20 of whom made up his personal bodyguard. Golan's retinue also included his second in command, U-Pre, who doubled as the chief of staff, his principal scribe, Thorn, as well as a squad of the Crimson Guard led by Skinner. During his march Golan read a number of accounts of previous expeditions into the Himatan, initially forming an opinion that most of the accounts were highly exaggerated,Blood and Bone, Chapter 3, UK MMPB, p.190-197 though finding them useful later in a number of situations.Blood and Bone, Chapter 5, UK MMPB, p.248-257 In Blood and Bone Golan was sent with the Thaumaturg army to invade the Himatan, in hope of reaching the city of Jakal Viharn but primarily to distract attention from the Circle of Masters who planned to enter the Himatan themselves.Blood and Bone, Chapter 6, UK MMPB, p.316-326 He had a poor start however, first with a Yakshaka going missing - something unheard of - which resulting in him sending Cohort Leader Pon-lor to search for it. Then, while only a few nights into the march, several soldiers were slaughtered by an unknown creature, inciting fear in his troops. Golan sent Skinner and his Guard to destroy it.Blood and Bone, Chapter 2, UK MMPB, p.96-99 While these problems persisted more cropped up during the march, with another demoralising event being a soldier's murder-suicide, brought on by the venom of a yellow recluse. Afterwards Golan issued orders to warn the soldiers of spiders, scorpions, and centipedes and how to avoid them. All of these events occurred before they even passed beyond the Gangrek Mounts to reach Ardata's lands. The next obstacle of the land, however, only claimed the lives of two scouts as Golan's readings helped him to more quickly identify and come up with a solution (burning) for the White Plague, a spore type that would have vastly reduced his army if it had gone undetected. Golan's march continued to be beleaguered with issues, including desertions, men lost to the jungle or its denizens, and loss of stores with abandoned carts. When he was appraised of these problems the baggage train was inundated by a mass of insects, which were only dispersed when Golan convinced some of the Crimson Guardsmen to help him. Afterwards, just before Skinner returned, there was a decline in the number of animal attacks.Blood and Bone, Chapter 8, UK MMPB, p.470 Desertions continued to a small extent, even amongst the animals, as the army was forced to abandon its remaining wagons and carts while the other causes for casualties continued to be illnesses or animal attacks with no contact with the enemy.Blood and Bone, Chapter 9, UK MMPB, p.479-489 After losing U-Pre to illness, Golan promoted Sub-commander Waris to be his new second. Golan approved Waris' unconventional idea of having the soldiers help the labourers build rafts to cross a river blocking their path. After the river crossing was delayed by a giant worm's attack on the Disavowed's raft (incidentally affecting other rafts also, knocking soldiers into the water), the Disavowed moved further into the jungle, abandoning the Army of Righteous Chastisement who recuperated on the opposite shore. Golan's presence was requested later that evening by the head surgeon, who thought he would have an academic interest in a patient of his who was infected by a parasite. Identified as an offshoot of the Ganari-worm, it was found in the river water and turned out to be a much more virulent form of the parasite, ultimately killing the soldier by eating him alive from the inside causing agonising pain.Blood and Bone, Chapter 10, UK MMPB, p.573-584 This showed the decision to have the soldiers build the rafts to be negative in the long run, as it resulted in a long night of work trying to isolate and help the infected as the parasites ran rampant through not only the labourers but the soldiers too. This left Golan's army much diminished, though again with still enough supplies to maintain his men.Blood and Bone, Chapter 12, UK MMPB, p.668-673 At some point after these events, Golan had a dream which reminded him of an ancient, powerful Thaumaturg ritual performed only once before, when the Thaumaturg's called down the Crippled God in an attempt to destroy Kallor.Blood and Bone, Chapter 14, UK MMPB, p.737-741Blood and Bone, Chapter 9, UK MMPB, p.524-525 Upon waking, he had a sudden realisation, confirmed by looking up at the Green Jade Banner, and knew that the Thaumaturg masters intended to drag down another meteor-like fragment. Upon this realisation he immediately broke his camp in an attempt to reach safety, even ordering the yakshaka to carry the least able, partially in response to one of Principal Scribe Thorn's sarcastic yet insightful jabs. Finally, having passed through the full Jungle of the Himatan to reach the relative safety of the eastern coast of Jacuruku and avoiding the destruction brought down by the Circle of Masters, Golan had only a small force remaining. He ordered them to head north, so they could travel around the coast and back to their own lands.Blood and Bone, Epilogue, UK MMPB, p.839-842 Notes and references Category:Humans Category:Males Category:Thaumaturg Mages Category:Jacuruku natives